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Infrastructure
ChinaScience

China gets rolling on new superfast maglev train

  • The vehicle, expected to be in service within a decade, would halve train travel between Shanghai and Beijing
  • China built over 140,000km of railways, with 38,000km for high-speed trains, by the end of 2020, according to state media

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China’s new maglev transport system rolls off the production line in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
Holly Chik
The production of the fastest train ever built in China, with a top speed of 600km/h (373mph), shows China was becoming a “transport superpower”, according to China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).

Manufacturer CRRC Qingdao Sifang said the maglev train rolled off the production line in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao on Tuesday.

In January, chief engineer Liang Jianying said the train would go into service in five to 10 years.

China will next carry out more route tests and assess the engineering viability of the trains in the coming few years, according to Chinese state newspaper People’s Daily.

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Unlike conventional engines and rolling stock, maglev, or magnetic levitation, trains hover above the track and are propelled by powerful electromagnets. The lack of friction makes them capable of travelling at much higher speeds than conventional trains.

The travel time between Beijing and Shanghai, for example, was expected to be cut from five hours by high-speed train to about 2.5 hours, according to state media.

The superfast train is central to plans announced by Beijing in July last year for a smart transport network featuring up to nine maglev lines stretching more than 1,000km (620 miles). Developing the maglev train had been listed as one of China’s key goals in building transport infrastructure.

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